milgram experiment

(noun)

It was a series of notable social psychology experiments conducted by Yale University psychologist Stanley Milgram in the 1960s. It measured the willingness of study participants to obey an authority figure who instructed them to perform acts that conflicted with their personal conscience.

Related Terms

Examples of milgram experiment in the following topics:

  • The Milgram Experiment: The Power of Authority

    • The Milgram experiment found that most people are willing to obey authority figures over their personal objections.
    • Milgram drew inspiration for the design of his experiment from the Nazis, who remain the paradigmatic example of the Milgram effect.
    • However, Milgram's experiments relate to any question of obedience and authority.
    • The Milgram experiment—based on obedience to authority figures—was a series of notable social psychology experiments conducted by Yale University psychologist Stanley Milgram in the 1960s.
    • Image of the original advertisement posted to solicit study participants for the Milgram experiment.

  • Conformity and Obedience

    • Stanley Milgram created a highly controversial and often replicated study of obedience.
    • In the Milgram experiment, participants were told they were going to contribute to a study about punishment and learning, but the actual focus was on how long they would listen to and obey orders from the experimenter.
    • The Milgram study found that participants would obey orders even when it posed severe harm to others.
    • Phillip Zimbardo was the principle investigator responsible for the experiment.
    • In the Milgram experiment, participants were told they were going to contribute to a study about punishment and learning, but the actual focus was on how long they would listen to and obey orders from the experimenter.

  • Social Networks

    • The concept gave rise to the famous phrase "six degrees of separation" after a 1967 small world experiment by psychologist Stanley Milgram which found that two random US citizens were connected by an average of six acquaintances.

  • Social Networks

    • The concept gave rise to the famous phrase "six degrees of separation" after a 1967 small world experiment by psychologist Stanley Milgram that found that two random U.S. citizens were connected by an average of six acquaintances.
    • Milgram also identified the concept of the familiar stranger, or an individual who is recognized from regular activities, but with whom one does not interact.
    • If such individuals meet in an unfamiliar setting, for example, while travelling, they are more likely to introduce themselves than would perfect strangers, since they have a background of shared experiences.

  • Networks

    • The concept gave rise to the famous phrase six degrees of separation after a 1967 small world experiment by psychologist Stanley Milgram which found that two random US citizens were connected by an average of six acquaintances.
    • Current internet experiments continue to explore this phenomenon, including the Ohio State Electronic Small World Project and Columbia's Small World Project.
    • As of 2005, these experiments confirm that about five to seven degrees of separation are sufficient for connecting any two people through the internet.

  • The Scientific Method

    • Once a prediction is made, an experiment is designed to test or critique it.
    • On the other hand, in experiments where a control is introduced, two virtually identical experiments are run, in only one of which the factor being tested is varied.
    • This type of experiment is often referred to as a true experiment because of its design.
    • An experiment is not an absolute requirement.
    • This is a diagram of the famous Milgram Experiment which explored obedience and authority in light of the crimes committed by the Nazis in World War II.

  • Religious Experience

    • Religious experience is the subjective experience in which an individual reports that he or she has either contacted a transcendent reality, or encountered, in some fashion, the divine.
    • A religious experience is usually uncommon, because it rarely involves everyday activities and life experiences, and because it is enmeshed with a particular individual's perception of the divine.
    • This has allowed them to study religious experience objectively.
    • Characteristic of the shaman, the goal of this type of experience is to leave one's body and experience transcendental realities.
    • Mystical experiences are in many ways the opposite of numinous experiences.

  • Experiments

    • In order to prove or disprove the hypothesis, scientists must perform experiments.
    • The experiment is a controlled test designed specifically to prove or disprove the hypothesis .
    • Before undertaking the experiment, researchers must attempt to identify everything that might influence the results of an experiment and do their best to neutralize the effects of everything except the topic of study.
    • Of course, an experiment is not an absolute requirement.
    • An experiment is a controlled test designed specifically to prove or disprove a hypothesis.

  • Bibliography

    • Travers, Jeffrey and Stanley Milgram. 1969.

  • Protecting Research Subjects

    • One of the most infamous was the Stanford prison experiment.
    • Two of the prisoners quit the experiment early and the entire experiment was abruptly stopped after only six days.
    • The experiment was criticized as being unethical and unscientific.
    • Two of the prisoners quit the experiment early and the entire experiment was abruptly stopped after only six days.
    • The experiment was criticized as being unethical and unscientific.